(Russ Regan)
New
Zealand
Single on Viking March 1963.
Herma Keil was a founding member of popular Auckland rock’n’roll band The Keil Isles, formed by his brother Olaf Keil and his cousin Freddie Keil in response to the rock’n’roll craze. Two other brothers Rudolph and Klaus were members along with pianist Heke Kewene. Two Keil sisters Eliza and Helga also sang with the band at times.
Herma recorded many singles in his own name, some of them crediting The Keil Isles as backing band, as on this one.
For more on The Keil Isles, see under their hit Made To Be Loved.
Essential reading:
The story is longer and more complex than you will read here. I recommend the Keil Isles histories by Bruce Sergent at his NZ music site and by Chris Bourke at
AudioCulture.
Thanks to Philippe for suggestion and resources.
(Russ Regan - E. Weil)
Netherlands
Single on Polydor by brothers Karel, Benny, Richard and Hans Hartung from Coevorden in The Netherlands, mainly active from the early to late 1960s [Discogs.com].
♫ Listen at YouTube
(Russ Regan)
USA
Single on Warner Bros November 1962.
If the publicity photo at Discogs.com checks out, The Cinders were a quartet of three women and a man, possibly Canadian.
The record’s credentials are impeccable: produced by Marty Cooper and arranged by Jack Nitzsche.
♫ Listen at YouTube
(Russ Regan)
USA
Original version
#16 Sydney #35 Melbourne #22 Brisbane #8 Adelaide #12 Perth #25 USA
Single on Zen October 1962.
Cinnamon Cinder was a chain of alcohol-free teenage clubs run by radio and TV presenter Bob Eubanks in Southern California.
The Pastel Six were one several regular Cinnamon Cinder bands. There were in fact (as you can see) seven of them: Bob Toten, Bill Myers, Dave Cadison, Tony Stealman, Eric Fickert, Rick Rodriguez and Lynn Hamm. They also appeared on Hollywood Dance Time, hosted by Eubanks during 1963 on KTTV Los Angeles, Channel 11.
The writer
Russ Regan (Harold
Rustigan 1928-2018), owner of the Zen label, also produced the single. He was a prolific songwriter who held executive positions at the UNI, 20th
Century and Motown labels. The Happy
Reindeer by Dancer, Prancer & Nervous (1959, #34 USA) was a co-composition.
It wasn’t until the crates were unpacked that we saw the label had changed our name from the Pendletones to the Beach Boys. A guy at the label named Russ Regan didn’t like our name. He changed it.
The Beach Boys check out their first record in 1961: Brian Wilson, I am Brian Wilson: a memoir (2016), p. 53
Commentary
After hearing Cinnamon Cinder I always end up with Gary US Bonds’ Quarter To Three (1961) on my mind, but that in turn is indebted
to The Church Street Five’s A Night With Daddy “G” Part 1 (1960). Others have cited Brenda Lee’s So Deep (1961) as an inspiration,
as well as its similarity to other songs. All of this suggests it is a song written to a familiar pop template, distinguished mainly by its spoken catchphrase
It’s a very nice dance! which, it has been suggested, could be spoken by session man Leon Russell who is also heard on
keyboards on versions by The Cinders and Johnny Rivers. But I will leave that can of worms unopened for now.
Selected sources, further reading:
1. “Young Adult Night Clubs Marking First Anniversary”, The Van Nuys
News and Valley Green Sheet, 19 July 1963.
2. Discogs.com has pages on each of Pastel Six’s members.
3. Pastel Six thread at Steve Hoffman Forums.
4. Russ Regan
interview by Artie Wayne at Spectropop.
(Russ Regan - F. Bonifay)
France
Later version
On JAG EP Quand On Dit Oui, C’Est Oui March 1964 by sisters Marcelle, Lydia and Claire Visconti.
(Jimmy Bowen - Nick Venet)
USA
Red herring?
Not exactly a cover version?
On Capitol album The Sensational Johnny Rivers August 1964.
The album’s tracks are from sessions for Capitol in late 1962. There were two Johnny Rivers singles on Capitol (10/62 and 2/63) but no album at that time. By the time The Sensational Johnny Rivers was released, Rivers had moved on from Capitol. He had taken up his successful residency at LA’s Whisky A Go Go, and had been signed to Imperial Records.
His breakthrough album on Imperial, Live At The Whisky À Go Go* (#12 Billboard), was released in May 1964. His first hit single, Memphis, from the album, was also released in May and would enter the charts in June 1964 to peak at #2 Billboard. It was followed by Maybelline in August 1964 (#12).
And then along came the Capitol album, also in August 1964.
Although it is usually listed amongst cover versions, Double C – Cinnamon Cinder sounds to me more like a song inspired by or borrowing from the Pastel Six record. Russ Regan, the composer of Cinnamon Cinder, is not credited, and the two songs are registered separately with BMI under differing writers’ names.
Apart from Double C, which looks a lot like a variation of the C.C. in the Pastel Six’s lyrics, the song has a different structure, and the distinctive spoken refrain It’s a very nice dance! is missing. Spectropop calls Double C – Cinnamon Cinder a “copycat”, a slight re-write cheekily credited to Jimmy Bowen and Nick Venet …
♫ Listen at YouTube
* The album cover has Live At The Whisky À Go Go, the label has Live At Whisky A Go Go.
Essential reading: The Johnny Rivers biography by Dik de Heer at This Is My Story has many details missing elsewhere.
(Russ Regan)
New
Zealand
Later version
On Viking album Town And Country by New Zealand country star also popular in Australia. The album was also released on CBS in Australia and – as Country Carousel – on M And M-Viking in the UK. World Record Club in NZ also released the album.
See also Maria Dallas – Ambush (1967), recorded in Nashville.
Pop Archives
Australia's premier song history site since 2004
Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2025. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Philippe Edouard, Dave Overett.., More…